UPDATE: The Windborne IMT show last evening was magical. Held in the Saint Mark’s sanctuary due to boiler issues in the regular hall, the acoustics were amazing and the house was full. This particular show will be livestreamed on Sunday evening, so check out their website for more details.

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Windborne has been called “The most exciting vocal group in a generation.” Their captivating show, which I saw for the first time in 2022 and then again last December, “draws on the singers’ deep roots in traditions of vocal harmony, while the absolute uniqueness of their artistic approach brings old songs into the present. Known for the innovation of their arrangements, their harmonies are bold and anything but predictable.”

The group returns to the Institute of Musical Traditions stage next week and they will surely showcase their newest project, To Warm the Winter Hearth, an album and book for midwinter celebration. This trailer highlights the lush vocal harmony, guest musicians, and full-color illustrations from the project.

I have always loved the acapella quartet. Four voices blending, chasing each other, coming together for a special moment of unity only to quickly depart to go their separate ways, and then to find their way back together to a special chord modulation that you just know has the singers silently smiling inside.

Singers Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Rowan hail from Vermont and Massachusetts, and they have honed their craft over many years of singing together. Each grew up in musical families, “going to Shape Note singing parties, taking classical voice and instrumental lessons, and seeking out folk music in their communities and schools.” They clearly found their passion.

Since I’ve written two other posts highlighting the group’s IMT performances in 2022 and 2023, I’ll keep this simple, with just a few videos to help brighten the midwinter season.

Here are two examples of their work: the short video of E Muntagne d’Orezza sung in Durham Cathedral, followed by their arrangement of the Phil Ochs song When I’m Gone.

Windborne sings a powerful traditional setting of the Stabat Mater in this video from the village of Nebbiu in southern Corsica. Listen to the bells ringing at the 3:00 mark at the end, as if building is adding an appropriate coda.

Some oldtimers know the Ewan MacColl tune The Terror Time from the Tannahill Weavers. Windborne’s arrangement is both traditional and refreshingly new, filmed in the refectory of Mont-Saint-Michel in France. As one commentator noted, check out the gorgeous vocal slides by Lynn at 2:47 and 2:51.

As I have done the past two years, with the approach of winter’s solstice I’ll end this post with Windborne’s arrangement of John Renbourn’s Traveller’s Prayer.

Praise to the moon, bright queen of the skies, | Jewel of the black night, the light of our eyes, | Brighter than starlight, whiter than snow, | Look down on us in the darkness below.

The group performs Friday, December 6th at IMT presents Windborne. The concert will be held at Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, 10701 Old Georgetown Rd in Rockville, MD, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Enjoy!

More to come…

DJB

Photo of Windborne credit Windbornesingers.com